South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Okech Francis
Nile Petroleum Corporation has reduced the salaries of all employees by half as a result of the force majeure caused by fighting in neighboring Sudan, leading to shutdown of a major portion of South Sudan’s oil production.
The decision announced by the Managing Director of NilePet Bernard Amour Makeny to Nilepet staffs last week seeks to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the company and its employees as well as “navigating through these challenging times,” a statement on Nilepet’s Facebook Page said.
“The primary outcome of the management’s decision was to reduce staff salaries by 50%. This measure was implemented as a temporary solution to address the financial strain caused by the oil crisis,” it said.
“By reducing payroll expenses, Nilepet sought to maintain operational continuity while facing reduced revenue streams resulting from the force majeure situation.”
Makeny said in a video clip that the decision is “a directive from the board of directors as the best of 3 options presented to the board as a result of internal detailed review, even revising of the budget and projections and what is so realistic is the figure that we can sustain.”
“So it was a very informative decision and it was also a decision that makes sure that everyone is not losing his or her job but generally that was the best option for now,” he said.
“Of cause if the situation continues to go the way it is, other options will also have to come in. We are all affected by the geopolitical issues related to the oil and a good example is the conflict in Sudan which directly impacted us.”
Crude production from the largest producing fields in Upper Nile with around 100,000 bpd closed after transport pipelines in Sudan were destroyed between Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces.
